Second Generation

Thomasine was the second wife of John Winthrop, founder and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Great Migration Newshttp://www.greatmigration.org/tour.htmlIn explaining one stop on the tour in August of 2012, the following was printed:

THOMASINE CLOPTON, SECOND WIFE OF JOHN WINTHROPMary (Forth) Winthrop, the first wife of John Winthrop, was buried at Groton, Suffolk, on 26 June 1615. Barely two months later, on 1 September 1615, John Winthrop entered into a marriage contract with Thomasine Clopton, daughter of William and Margery (Waldegrave) Clopton of Groton, and, on 6 December 1615, the couple were married at Groton. The marriage lasted just two days beyond a full year, for on 8 December 1616 Thomasine died at Groton, and she was buried there three days later. She died from complications of childbirth, as an unnamed and unbaptized daughter of John and Thomasine was born at Groton on 30 November 1616 and buried on 2 December, only to be reburied with her mother nine days later. John Winthrop wrote an extensive account of the circumstances surrounding her death [WP 1:165-73].Despite the brevity of this marriage and the early death of the only child, the connection with the Clopton family remained strong for Winthrop for many years to come. Fourteen years later, in November of 1630, Winthrop’s third wife referred to Margery (Waldegrave) Clopton as "my mother Clopton" [WP 2:321]. Anne Clopton, sister of Thomasine, had married John Maidstone. On 4 November 1629, their son, John Maidstone, then residing in Boxted, Essex, wrote to John Winthrop, recommending to him George Phillips, the Boxted minister, as a potential passenger on the Winthrop Fleet [WP 2:164–65]. Phillips did make the voyage and became minister at Watertown.William Clopton, father of Thomasine, was son of William Clopton of Long Melford, Suffolk, who, through his third marriage, to Thomasine Knyvett, had come into possession of Castelyns Manor in Groton. The Cloptons were prominent in Long Melford, where they occupied Kentwell Hall. (For much more detail on the Cloptons, including the Latin text of the marriage contract for John Winthrop and Thomasine Clopton, see Joseph James Muskett, Suffolk Manorial Families [Exeter 1909], 1:22–23, 136–45. Muskett also provides much information on the Winthrop family and on the many families with whom the Winthrops intermarried.)My Note: This narrative seems to have skipped a generation, as the William Clopton who married Thomasine Knyvett may have been a grandfather to William-father-of-Thomasine. This connection requires additional research to clarify this problem.

Thomasine CLOPTON and Gov. John WINTHROP were married on 6 December 1615.Gov. John WINTHROP was born in 1587/8. He died in 1649 at the age of 61.

Thomasine CLOPTON and Gov. John WINTHROP had the following children:

5

i.

[Daughter} WINTHROP was born on 30 November 1616. She died on 2 December 1616 at the age of 0 in Groton, Suffolk, England.